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Overview

In MGM's three-hour-plus The Great Ziegfeld, William Powell stars as the titular theatrical impresario, whose show business empire begins when he stage-manages a tour for legendary strongman Sandow (Nat Pendleton). With nary a penny in the bank, he charms European stage star Anna Held (Luise Rainer) to headline his "Follies," and later marries the luscious Ms. Held. From 1907 onward, Ziegfeld stages annual editions of Broadway's most fabulous revue, dedicated to "Glorifying the American Girl" but also giving ample time to develop the comic talents of Fanny Brice (played by herself), Will Rogers, Eddie Cantor and many others. Eventually, Ziegfeld abandons Ms. Held in favor of other beauties, setting the stage for the "telephone scene" which won Luise Rainer the first of her Oscars.

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Disc #1 -- Great Ziegfeld Play Movie Scene Selections Special Features Ziegfeld On Film New York Hails The Great Ziegfeld Languages Spoken Languages English Subtitles English Français Español Subtitles: Off

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Editorial Reviews

The Great Ziegfeld manages to combine an interesting story with spectacular production numbers, something that MGM musicals of the early sound era achieved on only an occasional basis. William Powell is fine as Florenz Ziegfeld, but it is Best Actress Oscar winner Louise Rainer who shines as Anna Held. Among the film's several pleasures are seeing real-life performers from the Ziegfeld era playing themselves, particularly Fanny Brice, later immortalized by Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl. Despite its 176-minute running time, The Great Ziegfeld maintains interest between its superb musical production numbers. At a time when the studio system dominated the film industry, MGM was all too happy to prove over and over again that it led the pack when it came to class projects.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

'The Great Ziegfeld' is a biographic musical based upon the life and times of Broadway impresario, Florenz Ziegfeld Jr., the man who 'glorified the American girl'. Determined to squeeze every last ounce of opulence from its coffers, MGM spared no expense in retelling what is essentially a melodrama with musical numbers tossed in for good effect. Flo (William Powell) is a carnival barker to whom success eludes until he crosses paths with lovely European star, Anna Held (Luise Rainer). The chemistry between the two is instant. Through Anna¿s talent as an artist of the stage, fame comes to them both. However, all bliss is fleeting and Anna and Flo¿s marriage ends when Flo takes up with chorus girl, Audrey Dane (Virginia Bruce). Anna believes that a separation from Flo will lead him back to her. But instead he divorces Anna for sassy, Billie Burke (Myrna Loy) and then proceeds to create a series of lavish spectacles that only MGM could afford to do justice to. The most spectacular of these remains 'A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody'; a gargantuan revolving platform covered in dancers and art deco magnificence. Aside: Flo's second wife, Billie was a contract player at MGM during this time and she is largely credited with the idea for creating a film out of the life of her late husband. The DVD transfer of ¿The Great Ziegfeld¿ is surprisingly smooth and very well balanced. Black levels are deep and solid. Unfortunately, there is an excess of age related dirt and scratches throughout. During scenes in which rear projection has been used, there is a considerable amount of fine detail lost and a weakening in the black levels. Shadows and contrast levels are exemplary. The audio has been cleaned up, is well balanced. There are a couple of featurettes that round out the history of the film - all too briefly.

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More than 1 year ago

this movie has lavishing musical numbers. the acting is A+. there is something very sweet and pure about the acting with william powell, luise rainer and myrna loy. i am a great fan of the william powell and myrna loy coupling, and there are charming here too. but myrna loy only appears toward the end of the movie.

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